Ekspress, Azerbaijan
March 14 2008
AZERI DEPUTY MINISTER COMMENTS ON RICE’S KARABAKH REMARKS
A senior Azerbaijani official has said that US Secretary of State
Condoleeza Rice’s doubts about the quickresolution of the Karabakh
conflict are "comprehensible", the Baku-based newspaper Ekspress
reported on 14March.
"The latest developments in Armenia and the position of this
country’s officials affect the negotiatingprocess," Azerbaijani
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov told Ekspress.
The report quoted Azimov as saying that Rice’s remarks are addressed
mainly to Armenia.
"As for the proposals by Congressmen Joe Knollenberg and Adam Schiff
to suspend US military aid to Azerbaijan,Azimov said that this is not
surprising, because both congressmen are members of the Armenian
working group,"Ekspress said.
The deputy minister added that Armenia is ahead of Azerbaijan in the
process of militarization.
"Azerbaijan’s military spending, the number of its troops and
strength are not at a high level compared to other countries… The
comparison of budgets allows us to say that Armenia is becoming more
militarized thanAzerbaijan," Azimov said.
The paper quoted the press secretary of the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry, Xazar Ibrahim, as saying that the aforesaidstatement by the
US congressmen confirm that Karabakh is occupied by Armenia.
"Azerbaijan has never issued a statement against Armenia and has
always said that it will restore itsterritorial integrity. That is
Azerbaijan will do this on its own territory. If the congressmen say
that this is athreat to Armenia, then they admit that Azerbaijani
territories are occupied by Armenia," Ibrahim said.